The five ways in which Melissa Lewis loves her crew
by WriterLiz88
Summary: Five drabbles about Commander Lewis' relationship with each of her crew members, and how that bond has strengthened them as a family. Please read and review! Love getting "favourited", but comments are love.


i. Nobody else knows how soft Melissa Lewis is, besides her Ares crew. After the team has been situated on Earth for a couple of years, Rick Martinez hesitates to pick up the phone to call her.  
"Melissa?" he says. "How are you?" Even after all this time, calling his Commander by her first name still sounds odd.

"Can't complain, Martinez. Life is good. What's new?"

"Don't freak out," he tells her. "Are you sitting down?"

"Spit it out, Rick."

"I've become commander for the new Ares launch. We head out next year."

Melissa swears under her breath.

"You're sure you want to do this again?" Her voice comes out shaky. "After such a close call?"

Martinez's voice is calm. "I want to be as good of a Commander as you. I need to go back there."

Melissa's eyes fill with unexpected, and terrified, tears. "Well, you'd better come back in one piece, Martinez. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Commander."

"It's Mel-" she says, but Rick cuts her off.

"You'll always be our commander, Commander."

She sniffles, and Rick smiles.

ii. It's Melissa that Johansen calls first, after the birth of her and Chris' baby girl. While she loves the others, there's something comforting about the older woman that Beth craves, cradling her newborn baby in her arms. The two have always been friendly- NASA did an exceptional job in creating their crew, and Johansen affectionally calls Lewis her "space mom," which Lewis rolls her eyes to.

"That makes me feel old," Melissa says. Beth can almost hear her rolling her eyes over the phone. It's amazing what working and living with someone in such close quarters can do to fundamentally just *know* someone.

Chris dials the phone and puts it up to Beth's ear, which she takes. He holds his newborn in his arms.

"It's a girl," Beth says excitedly, when Lewis picks up. "We have a little girl!"

Melissa screams a little over the phone with excitement, and says, "I'm so glad my little talk with the boys didn't solve anything."

Beth laughs. She is glad that most of their Mars experience is met with laughter now, and few tears.

"What's her name?" Melissa asks.

Beth looks at Chris and smiles, who kisses the little girl's forehead. "We named her Arie."

"That," their Commander says, "is the perfect name. Give her a kiss from me."

"You can give her one yourself, if you'd like. We're at the hospital near home. Mark will be visiting today too."

"I'm on my way," Melissa smiles, and hangs up the phone. She thanks her lucky stars every day for her crew that turned into family. How could you not, though, she thinks, when you go through an experience like that?

iii. Melissa holds Watney to the promise she made ages ago, and texts him to see if he wants to get a drink. The two are friends- she is happily married, and he is happily teaching- but there is something to their friendship that feels special and unexplainable. She guesses that strapping herself into space to get him will literally, forever bond them for life.

He accepts, and meets her at the tiny bar near NASA; a place that neither of them can ever seem to fully accept.

She rises to hug him. Never the most tactile, she will never refuse an opportunity to hug her friend again. "You're looking good, Mark."

He smiles. "You, too."

Lewis orders two beers, and a side of fries (as Watney shudders in mock disgust). She laughs. "I'm hungry, and it's quick. Want some?" she teases.

"I'm never eating potatoes again for the rest of my life," Watney says. "Nasty things."

"They kept you alive," Lewis reminds him. "So you can hate them, but remember that."

The two catch up- "How cute is Ari?" "Have you heard from Vogel? He texts me with his weird German humor; last time it was a picture of Bratwurst." "Rick's going up in space again," to which Lewis flinches.

Mark notices, and gives her hand a squeeze. "It will go better than last time, I promise. I made Rick promise me to be tough like you."

"I'm not tough," Melissa says, to which Mark does a double take.

"You, Commander-" he says, ("Melissa" says the Commander), "are the toughest person I know. But you know, it takes courage to be tough and kind at the same time, and you are the epitome of that."

He takes a swig of his beer, as Melissa eats a fry and tries to not blatantly show the fact that she is moved.

"Even though," he quips, "your taste in music is questionable at best."

Lewis throws a fry at him.

iv. Chris Beck lays in bed next to his wife, and his sleeping girl in the bassinet next to Beth. The wind blows loudly outside, and he shivers. PTSD is normal, he thinks to himself, but nonetheless, he is a little annoyed that years later, storms scare him like nothing else. He closes his eyes and remembers the aftermath of the storm, all these years later.

The crew have just returned to the Hermes, minus one crucial member of their crew. They all go in separate directions- Commander Lewis to the Rec Room, Vogel to his bunk, Johansen to the gym, and Rick to the kitchen area.

He stands, unsure of where to go. His legs almost go out from under him, as he remembers calling his friend's death just hours ago. Mark. That fucking storm.

Beck doesn't even know where he is going, not really, but heads to the only other unoccupied part of the vessel- the medical room. Somewhere he can think, or not think, or cry.

He closes the door, sinks into an empty chair, and puts his face in his hands. The tears fall, and he lets out a wail.. not knowing he could even make sounds like that. He cries and cries until he can't anymore.

Suddenly, he hears the door open and Lewis enters. He quickly wipes his eyes.

"It's okay, Chris," Lewis assures him. He does a double-take. Has the Commander ever called him by his first name before? Chris looks at her red-rimmed eyes and worn out expression.

"You okay, Commander?"

She looks at him, and thankfully doesn't tell him that it's a stupid question, one he regrets after he asks.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," she said. "I know how close you were."

Beck smiles at her slightly, and slightly shrugs his shoulders. Lewis puts his hand on his arm, and squeezes it.

"Let me know if you need to talk," she says.

Beck nods. "You too," he says.

Fucking storms, he thinks to himself, from the precious safety of his bed.

v. It's Lewis who really takes the time to get to know Vogel. While the others take awhile to warm up to him, it's Melissa who clicks with him right away. Quiet, serious, and highly intelligent, the two develop a shorthand while working together. Often with just a look, the two can communicate without talking.

Vogel appreciates her wry sense of humor, and laughs when she says, "I apologize for my countrymen." He loves his crew-he really does- but Martinez and Watney are constantly joking with each other, and Beth and Johansen are constantly and subtly flirting with one another, and it's nice to have a partner in crime to himself.

He calls her every week, as Germany is far away. "Alex, not that I don't love hearing from you," Melissa protests one week, "But isn't it better for you- like free- just to email or Skype?"

Vogel shrugs over the phone, and realizes that Lewis can't hear her. "I miss hearing your voice," he says. "That sounds so damn sappy, but it's true. It's so weird having spent close to three years all living together, and not seeing each other, or hearing each other's voices everyday."

Lewis is silent. "Yeah, I understand," she says. With Vogel, it's always a chance for her to be introspective.

He's silent for a moment. "I have some good news," he says finally.

"What's that?" Lewis asks.

"I'm moving back," he says.

"No way! When?"

"A couple of months. I missed you all too much. All of us, we're coming to America."

Lewis grins over the phone. "I can't wait to see you, Vogel."

"You too, Commander."

Lewis is so happy, she doesn't even correct him.


End file.
